What is the best Drag Radial to drive in rain.
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What is the best Drag Radial to drive in rain.
I know this is a stupid question but is there any drag radial that is good to drive in the rain. I want to put them on my 98 Z28 but it is my daily driver. I have had dr's in the past and know that the BFG's are horrible in the rain. Just don't know about others.
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Nitto 555Rs will likely be the best. However, you should always take extra precautions when driving a drag radial in the rain. If that means taking the slower way to get somewhere then so be it.
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My NT05's were ok the couple times I was forced to drive in the rain. But I had to keep it under 50 or so and I avoided the HW. Was really paranoid of hydroplaning. And you gotta be really touchy with the throttle. Keep your traction control on, even though it won't help much if you brake loose going around a turn, but it's a small bit of insurance. And yeah, avoid standing water.
And FWIW, my buddy said his 555's were fine in the rain.
And FWIW, my buddy said his 555's were fine in the rain.
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I have been in rain many times with my 555r's. Also a downpour that I was scared they weren't going to hold because I couldn't see much first and there was huge deep pocket's of water (I was going 25 at the most) but nothing happend. When it was raining on the interstate the few time's I was on there when it was raining I was going 60 and they held up great.
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Nitto 555r's, my friends had them and said unless they are worn down they have good traction.
I do not recommend the Mickey Thompson drag radial, I have them and the tread wears down really fast and even when you have it it's really slippery.
I do not recommend the Mickey Thompson drag radial, I have them and the tread wears down really fast and even when you have it it's really slippery.
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Sorry for the Hijack...
For those of you who are running the 555R's, do you have them on all four corners or do you run something different for front tires?
I know its not exactly on topic, but I'm soon to be in the market for some new rubber and would like to try my first Drag Radial. The 555R's seem like a good starting point for a car with the 10 Bolt still intact and considering the info in this thread concerning wet weather traction, I'm leaning in their direction. My car hasn't seen rain in years, but the Wife and I are planning to Long Haul the 2011 Power Tour (think Honeymoon ) and I'd like to be prepared if we hit any rain.
Long-story-short, can I safely run a Nitto 555R (or any other DR) for a front tire or should I look in a different direction to wrap around the front wheels?
For those of you who are running the 555R's, do you have them on all four corners or do you run something different for front tires?
I know its not exactly on topic, but I'm soon to be in the market for some new rubber and would like to try my first Drag Radial. The 555R's seem like a good starting point for a car with the 10 Bolt still intact and considering the info in this thread concerning wet weather traction, I'm leaning in their direction. My car hasn't seen rain in years, but the Wife and I are planning to Long Haul the 2011 Power Tour (think Honeymoon ) and I'd like to be prepared if we hit any rain.
Long-story-short, can I safely run a Nitto 555R (or any other DR) for a front tire or should I look in a different direction to wrap around the front wheels?
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Regular Nitto 555's would be ok because of the tread design, but any R compounds are for race/dry road use and are not designed with wet traction in mind. My NT05's are a road race tire, are not an R compound, but they do not have a tread design that would work well with sweeping water away from the center of the tire or away from the contact patch. They have a huge bald spot in the center that is meant for dry traction. That is the only thing that worried me about these tires in the rain (NOT05's.) They'd be asking for hydroplaning. = A tire riding on top of the surface of the water instead of biting into it and sweeping the water away from the tire.
Now when you look at lets say the GS-D3's from Goodyear, those are an all-season performance tire designed for wet and dry traction. And I can attest that I was 100% confident in those tires in the rain, but my NT05's would scare me a little because they would break loose if I tried to. But then again, this is comparing apples to oranges and i had GS-D3's on a bolt on car and NT05's on a h/c car.
Last edited by bayer-z28; 11-27-2010 at 02:53 PM.
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I am going to politely disagree with this. But the worn down part I agree with. That would go with ANY tire.
Regular Nitto 555's would be ok because of the tread design, but any R compounds are for race/dry road use and are not designed with wet traction in mind. My NT05's are a road race tire, are not an R compound, but they do not have a tread design that would work well with sweeping water away from the center of the tire or away from the contact patch. They have a huge bald spot in the center that is meant for dry traction. That is the only thing that worried me about these tires in the rain (NOT05's.) They'd be asking for hydroplaning. = A tire riding on top of the surface of the water instead of biting into it and sweeping the water away from the tire.
Now when you look at lets say the GS-D3's from Goodyear, those are an all-season performance tire designed for wet and dry traction. And I can attest that I was 100% confident in those tires in the rain, but my NT05's would scare me a little because they would break loose if I tried to. But then again, this is comparing apples to oranges and i had GS-D3's on a bolt on car and NT05's on a h/c car.
Regular Nitto 555's would be ok because of the tread design, but any R compounds are for race/dry road use and are not designed with wet traction in mind. My NT05's are a road race tire, are not an R compound, but they do not have a tread design that would work well with sweeping water away from the center of the tire or away from the contact patch. They have a huge bald spot in the center that is meant for dry traction. That is the only thing that worried me about these tires in the rain (NOT05's.) They'd be asking for hydroplaning. = A tire riding on top of the surface of the water instead of biting into it and sweeping the water away from the tire.
Now when you look at lets say the GS-D3's from Goodyear, those are an all-season performance tire designed for wet and dry traction. And I can attest that I was 100% confident in those tires in the rain, but my NT05's would scare me a little because they would break loose if I tried to. But then again, this is comparing apples to oranges and i had GS-D3's on a bolt on car and NT05's on a h/c car.
#16
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Sorry for the Hijack...
For those of you who are running the 555R's, do you have them on all four corners or do you run something different for front tires?
I know its not exactly on topic, but I'm soon to be in the market for some new rubber and would like to try my first Drag Radial. The 555R's seem like a good starting point for a car with the 10 Bolt still intact and considering the info in this thread concerning wet weather traction, I'm leaning in their direction. My car hasn't seen rain in years, but the Wife and I are planning to Long Haul the 2011 Power Tour (think Honeymoon ) and I'd like to be prepared if we hit any rain.
Long-story-short, can I safely run a Nitto 555R (or any other DR) for a front tire or should I look in a different direction to wrap around the front wheels?
For those of you who are running the 555R's, do you have them on all four corners or do you run something different for front tires?
I know its not exactly on topic, but I'm soon to be in the market for some new rubber and would like to try my first Drag Radial. The 555R's seem like a good starting point for a car with the 10 Bolt still intact and considering the info in this thread concerning wet weather traction, I'm leaning in their direction. My car hasn't seen rain in years, but the Wife and I are planning to Long Haul the 2011 Power Tour (think Honeymoon ) and I'd like to be prepared if we hit any rain.
Long-story-short, can I safely run a Nitto 555R (or any other DR) for a front tire or should I look in a different direction to wrap around the front wheels?
#18
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i cant say whats good in the rain, but I can tell you that BFG's SUCK in the rain. My a**hole has never been puckered tighter when i got caught in the rain on the highway. 50mph TOPS and she would skate around pretty easily.
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Now this sh**t is funny as hell kind sounds like when I had mine on and spun out of control at about 30mph in front of a 18 wheeler felt the samething with my a**hole.